Invincible Iron Man: Stark Plant Takeover
by Ray Battlemonger
Summary: Stark Plant is taken over by the Mandarin and the new Masters of Evil! COMPLETED
1. Default Chapter

Part I of IV: The Masters of Evil

The Mandarin set foot in America. Using his technical genius, he had slipped by American radars and remained undetected. He had taken off his earrings and wore an American business suit instead of his Chinese robes. It was easy to acquire a fancy hotel room, where he was to meet his new hired hands. Here's a list of those five super-villains.

Blizzard: Originally the icy Jack Frost, Gregor Shapanka gave himself a new costume and improved his powers, calling himself Blizzard.

Constrictor: A super-criminal that has two pairs of electrified coils on his arms excellent for squeezing his victims.

Mr. Hyde: A mad scientist who made for himself serum, which upon drinking gives him super strength.

Porcupine: A small genius, Alexander Gentry, who made for himself a battle suit that contained various grenades and covering of quills, which, at the press of a button, stuck out.

Scorpion: Once on the side of the law, Mac Gargan underwent an experiment that gave him the proportionate strength of the Scorpion and a powerful tail.

Whirlwind: A mutant that was born with the ability to travel at great speeds like a human top (which happens to have been his first name).

The Mandarin sat down on the fanciest and tallest chair, much like his throne back in China, only softer. "Let the meeting begin. Although this is the Masters of Evil, we are not going to battle the Avengers first; rather, we are going to assault the Stark Plant, the greatest power source in the whole city."

"That means we'll encounter Iron Man, right?" asked Blizzard.

"Of course."

A terrible voice, a little like a shriek, asked its own question. "How do we succeed?"

"We won't reveal ourselves until we are inside, Mr. Hyde. We'll steal a supply truck belonging to Stark International. I'll say the rest of the plan as we go along."

Tony Stark sat at his desk, drinking coffee. Jim Rhodes came in. "Our earthquake device is going to be here for another week."

Stark closed his eyes. "When are they going to get rid of that thing? It's been attracting terrorists and costumed criminals for days now. Soon the whole plant is going to be someone else's and New York will be at his mercy."

"I'm Sorry, sir. Well, I've got to go now. Don't want to keep my pals waitin'." He left, leaving Stark. The wealthy businessman pressed a button, and a section of the wall opened, revealing red and gold armor; the armor of Iron Man. Just recently he had fought off members of HYDRA and AIM, not to mention the Eel. The battle with this slippery cook didn't last that long. His armor protected him well against the Eel's electric blasts and his repulsor ray finished the battle.

This earthquake device was the result of an accident and the government wanted to exploit it. Stark was against it from the start, but they threatened to take over his company. He had no idea what they would want such a destructive thing for. It's only use was threatening countries, but that might start a nuclear war with China, who would defend any Communist countries. It was a waste of money.

Putting on his suit, Tony Stark sent his jet boots into action, flying out of the window. The window shut automatically, thanks to Stark's genius. The Avenger looked downwards as he flew, spotting a getaway truck followed by police cars. He swooped downwards, stopping the vehicle dead in its tracks.

The criminals inside rushed out, firing their guns. The iron warrior grabbed two of them, throwing them into a muscle-bound crook. He then fired his repulsor ray at the ground in front of the others, blasting a hole in the concrete. The criminals tripped and fell in.

As the police rounded them up, one walked up to Iron Man. "Thanks. We had a tough thing going on here."

"Just my civic duty, sir." Iron Man flew into the sky to do more patrolling.

The Stark Intl. truck was alone on the road, covered by the trees. The journey was going smoothly until a heavy, armored figure stepped onto the road. The truck screeched to a halt. Standing in front of them was the Porcupine.

Mr. Hyde broke the lock on the back, opening the doors and throwing out the crowding equipment. Scorpion stepped in, followed by the Mandarin. The lethal super-villain made a small hole with the spike on his tail, through which the Mandarin fired his hypnotic ring at the two drivers. The other criminals climbed into the truck and closed the doors. They were on their way to The Stark Plant.

"Listen, my accomplices. When we get past security, we'll break out of the truck and get rid of all who are around us. Blizzard and Mr. Hyde shall follow me. Whirlwind will go around taking out opposition. The Porcupine and Scorpion will guard the truck. I have stored some valuable weapons in there. Constrictor will take the highest room and keep a lookout. Is everything understood?"

"You bet!" grimaced the Scorpion.

It was late in the afternoon. Iron Man was still out fighting crime and the truck reached the gate of the Stark Plant. The drivers didn't look too much like they were in a trance, fortunately for the Mandarin and the Masers of Evil.

'You may pass."

The truck got further in and stopped. Mr. Hyde knocked the door open. The surrounding men were surprised as the berserk man charge towards them. He grabbed three of them throwing them around the room. Whirlwind's methods were faster, as he twirled around, knocking out most of his opponents.

Three men remained. The Scorpion hit one with his tail, which now dripped with blood. The Mandarin zapped the two drivers while Constrictor caught the other two guards outside the truck, shocking them into unconsciousness.

They all followed their orders. Constrictor went into an elevator while Whirlwind went out of sight. The Mandarin descended down some steps with Blizzard and Mr. Hyde while the Porcupine and Scorpion remained behind.

The man in the tower tried to communicate with the man in charge of parking. There was no answer. "Hello? Is anyone there? For heaven's sakes, someone please answer."

"Alright, they're knocked out for the moment, or dead."

"Wha-ARRGGHHH!" The man was electrocuted by two coils and slumped over. Constrictor sat down in his seat and looked out, He could see Whirlwind moving around, knocking out guards and workers. A green button on the control panel started blinking. He pressed it.

"This is the Mandarin. How are you faring, Constrictor?"

'Just fine, Mandarin. From my view it looks like Whirlwind's got it under control."

Iron Man corner of the building. The support had been blasted a maniac armed with many bombs. People were screaming and running. _Can't hold this any longer_. He waited for some help, but none was coming. He reluctantly dropped the corner and the building shook apart.

He found the maniac in a fast, two-man car, alongside an insane driver with sunglasses. He flew hands forward, grabbing the car from behind. "Hey, R-robert. Are car's getting lifted." "What do you mean? That's- Oh, crud, it's Iron Man.

That's right." Stark smiled, flipping the vehicle over with the crooks screaming. They survived and Iron Man wrapped a bent steel bar around them. "That should hold you fellows. You," he pointed at the bomb maniac. "Next time I see you trying to blow up buildings, thus endangering over a hundred lives, I'm goin to blast a hole through your stomach, got it?"

"Y-you bet, Mr. Iron Man!"

"Good!"

The modern knight went into the air, before getting back to his mansion, he would check up on the plant.

The Mandarin checked he earthquake device. Blizzard and Mr. Hyde were a little bored. Mr. Hyde looked into a mirror. He noticed that more hair was forming along the top of his upper lib and that his muscles seemed to be shrinking. Walking up to a suitcase, he opened it, took out a vial, the Hyde formula, and drank it. He felt his strength returning.

"So that is you infamous potion, is it not?" questioned the Mandarin

"Yes. I made it myself early on while the superhero were still young. What's your power from?"

The Mandarin lifted his hands showing his fingers. Each one had a ring. "These ten rings you see on my fingers are grafted to my skin. Each one has a power. A ring is the most powerful weapon a mortal can have."

"Sounds like the Green Lantern," said the Blizzard. "When are going to use that blasted device?"

"All in good time, Blizzard. The government should have kept this a little more secret."

Constrictor gazed out of the tower window. Whirlwind had finished his job and was chatting with the Porcupine and Scorpion. The snake-like villain looked further up at the New York skyline and saw something very interesting; a red and gold knight was approaching. Constrictor made an evil smile grabbing his coils. Iron Man was coming.

_Next: Iron Man gets ganged up on and the Mandarin lays out his plans in _Part II of IV: Defeat


	2. Part II of Iv: Defeat

Thanks, Danrilor, for all your reviews. I hope you enjoy the second part of this story.

Part II of IV: Defeat

The Constrictor hid on the top of the tower. He had told the Mandarin of Iron Man's approach and almost all of the members were coming out from their places to confront the superhero.

Stark was worried. Where were the workers? And what was that leaping at him from the tower? Then he knew. The attacking figure missed him but caught his waist with his right pair of coils. He did not electrify his squeezing weapons, since Iron Man could charge the electricity right back at him.

Iron Man fired a repulsor ray, knocking his foe out of the air. Constrictor saved himself by wrapping his coils around the Star Plant flag post. Iron Man went further down for a better look. A blurry figure raced towards him, easily dodging shellhead's repulsor blasts. When he got close enough, he delivered a powerful double-kick, sending the modern knight flying.

Iron Man was not hurt much by the fall and got right back up. Unfortunately, Blizzard and Mr. Hyde rushed out of a building, the former freezing the Avenger right in the air. The Porcupine fired a grenade out of his bulky suit, which blasted the ice covering and sent Iron Man crashing down onto a roof with scratch marks.

Mr. Hyde, anticipating the fall, had climbed onto the warehouse roof and charged at the hero. He mercilessly pounded his foe. Tony Stark couldn't fire his repulsor rays since he was getting confused by the constant beating and the growing pain. Mr. Hyde grinned as his right fist smashed into Iron Man's helmet again and again.

Finally Iron Man managed to blast the human monster back and turned on his jet boots, smashing his enemy backwards off the roof. When they landed, shellhead got back up and made a run. He wasn't a coward. He just knew that it was pointless drawing out the battle. His armor was dented and scratched and his electronics were busted.

He started to run, surprisingly outrunning Hyde and Constrictor. He made it into the warehouse he had crashed on. Pursuing him was the Scorpion, who destroyed several objects by swinging his tail at Iron Man. Stark ran deeper into the warehouse, where he found the main power generator for the building. He blasted it with his repulsor ray and all security cameras monitoring the warehouse and the lights went off, covering the place in darkness.

The Avenger hid as the Scorpion searched for him. The wicked villain eventually gave up and left. Iron Man tried to signal the other Avengers for help, but his belt had been broken by the Porcupines grenade. He started to rest, dreading the next few hours.

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Blue energy swirled around the earthquake device. The Mandarin sat at the controls as the machine was lifted to the sub-levels of the plant. He threw a switch and rumbling was heard.

A train was going along at a fast pace when suddenly the earth split open, causing the transportation to fall downwards. The people screamed and the surrounding forests seemed to be swallowed up.

Mr. Hyde cackled. The Mandarin had used a small setting to test the earthquake device, and it worked quite well. He picked up a telephone and called the mayor. Someone picked up the phone at the other end.

"Hello? This is the mayor speaking.'

"Hello, mayor. I'm afraid that you're going to have to give over your city, unless you want the city of New York to be engulfed in an earthquake."

"Huh? Who is this? I'm in no mood for pranks."

"You speak to the Mandarin. Now do you believe me?"

There was a long pause.

"I-I'll think about it. Just give me 24 hours."

"That is fine. Oh, if you send any superheroes or soldiers, I will automatically unleash the earthquake device." He set down the phone and made a smile.

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The Scorpion and the Porcupine were having lunch. The former could eat with his full costume on, but the Porcupine had to take his mask off. Alexander Gentry looked at the Scorpion and asked a question.

"Were you once in the Masters of Evil?"

"Yea, the third one with Egghead. Whirlwind was there too. Mr. Hyde joined the next group. This is the second time for him, Constrictor, and me. Now I have a question. Why did the Mandarin hire a loser like you?"

Gentry's face reddened as he snapped back. "I'm not a loser. I took out the Beast easily. I just lose when I'm teamed up with a bunch of clowns."

"Are you calling me a clown?"

"No."

"Good, because I don't think you want to be found with your face gashed opened." With that the two fell silent, eating their sandwiches.

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Stark peeped out of the crack in the basement window. He could see Jim Rhodes driving back. _Don't get near here, Jim_.

Rhodes stepped out when an icy ball destroyed his car. The man ducked for cover as metal flew all around the place. "What's going on here?" The Blizzard continued shooting at him, but Rhodes disappeared into the same warehouse as Stark. The Mandarin wasn't going to be happy about this.

Rhodes was surprised by Iron Man. "Tony? What's going on? I didn't have my radio on."

After explaining the situation, Iron Man pointed towards a vault. "You know the combination. That's where the War Machine suit is. I need your help." Rhodes opened the vault. "Thanks, boss."

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The Mandarin paced furiously. "You let another man escape into that accursed warehouse? That's it. Send in all of our men except for you, you bumbling fool. I want those two to be rid of!"

As the Blizzard went away to pass the orders, the Mandarin looked at the earthquake device. "12 hours, my friend. 12 hours."


	3. Part III of IV: The Raging Battle

Part III of IV: the Raging Battle

10 hours. 10 hours until it would be seen whether New York would surrender or not. The earthquake device was the ultimate destruction machine, more dangerous than an atomic bomb. The machine was originally supposed to be used for creating irrigation and canals, but miscalculations in its construction made it far more powerful. Soon New York would be at the Mandarin's feet.

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Iron Man and War Machine crashed out of the warehouse wall. They might as well come out now. They were bound to be found anyways. They were surprised to find five super-villains waiting for them.

"Alright," said Iron Man. "I'll take Constrictor, Porcupine, and Mr. Hyde. You take on Whirlwind and Scorpion. Got it?"

"You bet."

"Okay, let's go."

Jim Rhodes was too quick in his assault, and the Scorpion punched him back, making him go back through the hole in the wall. He got out again. Mounted on his right shoulder was a gatling gun, which he fired at the Scorpion. The arachnoid criminal deflected the bullets with his tail and then leapt forward, bashing his tail on War Machine's grey and white armor.

Iron Man had knocked into Mr. Hyde and the two went through the doorway into the main building. The two tumbled down a stairs, followed by Constrictor and the Porcupine. When they landed Mr. Hyde grabbed his ironclad foe by the throat.

"This is the end of the line, you metal meddler!" He applied more pressure, but got a knee in the stomach in return. The ugly man bowled over as Iron Man, now free, turned towards the Porcupine. Pressing a button on his belt, the round villain's quills pooped out. He then clicked some studs, firing several quills at the superhero. On stuck into his hand and Iron Man yelped in pain.

Pulling out the quill, he charged forward, grabbed the Porcupine before he could react, and, with some trouble, threw him over his head into Mr. Hyde. The Thor villain yelped in pain as the spiky mercenary smashed into him. Putting his hands close together, Iron Man combined his repulsor blasts, hitting the villainous couple very hard. The two slumped to their knees, their costumes and clothes torn.

Constrictor lashed out, throwing his left coils around Iron Man's neck. Using his transistorized strength, he threw his opponent down another flight of stairs, and the grip on his throat was loosened. He flew downwards, feet first, hitting Constrictor in the stomach.

"Alright, Mr. Schlichting, I'm going to put you back in jail. You might as well give up."

'No!" He lashed out with his coils squeezing the Avenger. Iron Man punched Constrictor in the jaw, knocking him onto his back. The villain jumped up and wrapped his coils. He made a bad move. Wrapping Iron Man in his coils, he electrified his metal weapons at full intensity. Iron Man was able to charge the electricity back, sending Constrictor flying into a wall. Three were now down.

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Meanwhile, up above, the Scorpion lashed his tail at War Machine, who flew out of the way. When the sharp-ended appendage got stuck in the ground, Jim Rhodes punched the monstrous man in the stomach. The Scorpion freed his tail digging its spike end in War Machine's shoulder. The armored hero punched his foe with both hands, knocking him back so that he twirled around. War Machine then barraged the back of his head with repulsor blasts, knocking out the super-villain.

He turned to confront Whirlwind. The mutant started whirling, causing many boxes and crates, still around din piles, to fly in all directions. One heavy crate knocked off War Machine's shoulder gun. And another one glanced off his chest.

Whirlwind twirled away and War Machine went into pursuit. He had difficulty in catching up to the costumed villain, who swerved veered in almost every direction. Then Whirlwind got too confident and started showing off, spinning in circles around War Machine. Jim Rhodes slashed out with his fists, one on each side. His transistorized strength did the rest. Whirlwind hit one of the fists and spun out of control landing on his rear end. War Machine blasted him out of consciousness. After tying him up he went to search for Tony Stark.

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Iron Man rushed into the main room, repulsors ready. The Mandarin face seethed with rage as he barked out his commands. "Blizzard! Kill him!" "With pleasure."

Blizzard unleashed a storm of sharp ice blades which Iron Man evaded by flying higher. His enemy used a trail of ice to get up to him, icing his feet and kicking him. The red and gold Avenger started falling when a bed of cold white stuff stopped him. He slid on the slippery bed like something going off a ramp. He landed on his side, within a few feet of the earthquake device.

Blizzard gave himself heavy ice armor and charged towards Iron Man, who was trying to turn off the device. The Mandarin used one of his rings to push him away and the superhero made an "oof" sound as Blizzard stepped on him. Holding his hands together, Iron Man fired a powerful repulsor blast that shattered his enemy's armor.

Making himself a spiked fist, Blizzard swung at the hero, who ducked. The criminal swung downwards, but Iron Man jetted out of the way, hitting Blizzard with a repulsor blast while he broke his ice fist on the floor. Iron Man was going in for the charge when suddenly he spiraled downwards, landing hard and loud. _I forgot to reenergize my chest plate!_

"Quickly, Blizzard. Dispel of the intruder," commanded the Mandarin. "For his interruption I will set off the earthquake device at high setting."

The Blizzard aimed his left hand at Iron Man. "This is the end of the line for you," he chuckled. Suddenly a red beam of light knocked the super-villain back. War Machine stood in the doorway. "Give yourselves up, you two!"

"No!" yelled the Blizzard as Icy darts hit War Machine. "ARRRGGHHHHH!" Blizzard rushed at his second victim when Iron Man put out his leg tripping him. War Machine made a powerful kick stopping the villain from falling and sending him flipping backwards and landing hard on the ground.

Jim Rhodes closed in on the Mandarin, who exclaimed, "You fool! Even as I speak, New York is getting destroyed by the earthquake device!"

"Oh, Lord," gasped War Machine he blasted through the upper levels, passed over the beaten villains and the security walls. New York was in big trouble.


	4. Earthquake

Part IV of IV: Earthquake

The mayor was having a nice, quiet time. He was getting far in his book and no one disturbed him. Suddenly he received a phone call, just as he heard a little rumbling.

"Hello, this is the mayor."

"You'd better turn on the news! Look!" The mayor switched on the TV and was shocked to see the ground ripping apart. Why had earthquakes been happening around New York? That was impossible! Then he remembered the earthquake device. It must have fallen into the wrong hands. He prepared for the worst.

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War Machine knew had to stop the earthquake device, but he also had to save many people along the way. He saw a car about to fall into the growing chasm. He swooped downwards, lifting the vehicle and flying it to safety. Now he thought about how to stop the quake. He groaned when he found the solution. Duh, Stark had told him that the machine could be stopped simply by pulling some levers and pushing some buttons in a certain combination.

War Machine flew back towards the plant. Once he got there he immediately went to work on the earthquake device. Iron Man couldn't help because he had almost been beaten to death. The Mandarin had left the scene to watch New York's destruction from the sky and the other villains were either unconscious or had disappeared themselves.

_Pull the blue lever and then press the green button_ thought Jim Rhodes. He could clearly remember the first step. Now what was the next one? _Pull the yellow lever and then press the blue button…no wait… the red button_. War Machine knew that every second he spent was another second that the earthquake was nearing New York.

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The earthquake was almost at New York. The mayor prepared for the end as the inhabitants screamed and tried to flee. The Avengers and Spider-Man had come and helped save tons of endangered men, women, and children in the surrounding towns, but they had no idea how to stop the quake.

Henry Pym increased his size to hold up two cars full of injured people. The Wasp flew in between small holes in the rubble to find trapped people. Hawkeye shot a rope arrow and swung off a collapsing building with an old man. Captain America shielded himself from flying pieces of rubble.

"Wasp, this must be a result of the earthquake device at the Stark plant! Do you have any idea of how to stop it?"

"Sorry, Cap, none of us know, except for maybe Iron Man or War Machine.

A web-swinging superhero spotted a preschool girl in the path of the growing chasm. Spider-Man was knocked off balance by a swirling car and the little girl was about to be swallowed up when everything stopped. New York was saved! Now the heroes needed to find survivors amidst the ruins of the towns.

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War Machine sighed with relief. After pulling four levers and pressing six buttons, the quake had stopped. Now he went over to Iron Man. "Hey, Tony, are you all right?"

"I'll manage. Where's the Mandarin?"

"He escaped, and it seems that the Blizzard and Mr. Hyde have too. That's four out of seven Masters of Evil down. I'll bet the Mandarin is real mad now that his little urban renewal plan has been foiled.

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In his plane, the Mandarin roared in anger. "That accursed War Machine must have stopped New York from being destroyed!"

Event Mr. Hyde was shocked by the vicious yelling of his leader. The Blizzard was just annoyed and he finally got up and prepared to jump out on an ice-slide. "I'm cutting out, Fu Manchu. You can get yourself some new cronies."

The Blizzard left and soon it was only the Mandarin and Mr. Hyde. As their plane left the United States, the Mandarin shouted out his plans to form a new Masters of Evil. Hyde got sick of it and secretly escaped from the noise with a parachute. He could swim to the coast when he landed in the water.

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Tony Stark stepped up to the podium and spoke into the microphone. "The earthquake device will be dismantled and its pieces kept in heavily guarded vaults. This will be done due to stealing attempts made by many super-villains, including HYDRA, the Eel, and the Mandarin's Masters of Evil. It is my wish that no one attempts to recreate this machine and the Avengers have agreed to stop any such attempts. Thank you, that is all."

Tony met Jim and the two went out to dinner with two dates. The two armored superheroes deserved a good meal.

The End


End file.
